Control apparatus



Nov. 1,1927. W'G HORN v CONTROL APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR M/fid/i? G. Horn WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY W. G. HORN CONTROL APPARATUS Nov. 1, 1927. 7,

Filed April 25, 1921 2 Sheets-$heet 2 w INVENTOR W////&'m G. Horw ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

Patented Nov. 1, 1927.

UNITEDSTAT'ES WILLIAM G. HORN, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T WESTINGHOUSE Y ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING C01VIPANY,.A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

coN'rnoL APPARATUS.

Application filed April 25, 1921. Serial No. 464,480.

' a means for operating a plurality of doors that is so constructed'as to be governed by electric means remote from the doors and pneumatic means, adjacent tothe doors.

The second object of my invention is to provide a controller for governing a plurality of circuits that shall be compact and economical in construction and positive and effective in operation.

Briefly speaking, myinvention consists in providing a controller having a plurality of drums or switching devices mounted upon a common shaft and providing means for actuating these switching devices independently of each other.

For a better understanding of my invention, referenceshould be made to the accompanying drawings; m

Figure 1 of which is a plan view, partlyin section, of a controller constructed in accordance with my invention; a

Fig. 2 is a view, partly. in section and partly in side elevation, of the controller shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig.3 1s a vlew, inside elevation, of a.

door and an electrical device governed by the controller that is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. r 1 Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a controller 1 comprises a casing 2 anda cover 3, in which is mounted a rotatable shaft4. A switching device or drum 5 is securely mounted upon the shaft 4 and may be actuated thereby. A second switching device or drum 6 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 4. 1 I

The switching device 5 may be actuated by a pneumatic device 8 comprising a lever'arm 9 that is mechanically connected to the shaft 4 by means of. a pin 11. The arm 9 is pivotally attached to a piston rod 12 by a pin 10. A piston 13 is secured to the lower end of the rod 12. The piston .13 is-enclosed in a cylindrical casing 14, which is provided with a cover member 14a. The piston13 is biased to its lower position by means of a spring 15. The piston 13 may be actuated to its upper position by compressed a'iror any other suitable fluid that is supplied froma pipe 16 through an opening 17 into the lower portion of the cylindrical casing 14.

The drum 5, which is actuated by the piston rod 12, is securely mounted upon the shaft 4 by means of a plurality of collars 19,

made of some suitable insulating material,,

and a plurality of screws 21. A plurality of contact segments 22 are securely mounted upon'the drum 5 and are actuated thereby. When the contact segments 22, which are mounted upon the drum 5, are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, they engage a plurality of contact fingers 23, which are provided with contact terminals 24.

When the piston rod 12 is actuated up wardly, the rod 4 and, hence, the drum 5 are actuated in a counterclockwise direction, viewed from the left-hand end of Fig. 1, and the circuits comprising the contact fingers 23 arebrokeii. y I

The drum 6 is rotatably mounted upon'the rod-4 by means of a plurality of collars 25 and 26. The collar 26 is provided with a lever arm 27, which is pivotally attached to the piston rod 28 by means of a pin 29. The piston rod 28 is in side-by-side relation with the piston rod. 12 and at the same end of the controller 1. A piston 13a, corresponding to piston 13, is securely mounted upon the opposite end of the piston rod 28 and is biased The electromagnetic device 31 comprises a cylindrical core member 33, having an annu-' lar portion or flange 34 at itstop, a portion of the cylindrical casing 2 and a supporting member 34a, in which the shaft 4 is rotatably mounted.

The magnetizable coil 35 surrounds the cylindrical core member 33 and is energized by means of an electrical circuit, only the coil 35 of whichis shown. The energization of the coil 35 maybe governed bya pus'shbutton switch or a contact finger of a' master a controller (notshown). a

. An armature member 36 is employed to actuate the valve stem 37 which controls the inletvalve 38 andthe exhaust va1ve39. The

inlet valve 38 is biased to its closed position and the exhaust valve 39 is biased to 1ts open position by means of a resilient memberor spring 40. I a r I Upon the energization of the actuating coil 35, air is admitted from the conveyor 41 through. the valve chamber 42, the inlet valve 38, and the conveyor 32 to the piston 13a. Upon the de-energization oit'coil 35, the inlet valve 38 closes and the exhaust valve 39 opens, whereby the air within the cylindrical casing 14 is permitted to escape through the exhaustport 42a.

The drum 6 is provided with a plurality of contact segments 22, similar to those upon thedrum'5, which engage the contact fingers 23,"when the piston rod 28 is actuated up warjdlyi p Thecontroller casing 2 is provided with a plurality of openings 45', 46 and 47 for the admission of a plurality of conductors 48, which are connected to the various contact terminals 24. A plurality of lugs 49 are provided for securing the casing 2 to some 1 portion of a car body 50.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawing, a. door 51, having a rack member 52 mounted thereon, is actuated by an electro-pneumatic ma chine or'engine 53 which is mounted upon the car body 50. The engine 53 is fully described in the patent to A. J. Hall, et al., No. 1,365,317, dated Jan. 11, 1921. It is sufficient for the understanding of my invention to state that the engine 53 comprises two electromagnetic valve devices 54 and 55 which control the passage of air-into the cylinders 56 and 57, respectively. A duplex piston is mounted within the cylinders 56 and 57 and when fluid-pressure is admitted to one of the cylinders', the piston actuates the rack member 58 which, in turn, actuates the'pinion 59 mounted upon a shaft 60. A pinion 61 is mounted. upon the opposite end of the shaft 60 and is actuated thereby. The movement of the pinion 61 actuates the rack member 52 which is secured to the door 51.

The engine 53 is normally so positioned, by means ofair-pressure applied to one of thepistons, that it maintains the door 51 in itsclosed position. I

Upon the 'energization of both ofthe actuating coils of the .valve devices 54 and 55, the rack member 58 is so actuated as to cause the pinion member 59 to rotate in a direction that will open the door 51. The energization 'of the'actuating coils of the electromagnetic valve mechanisms 54 and 55 is effected by means of a battery 63 or any other suitable source of electrical energy.

Upon the energization of the actuating coils 35 of the electromagneticdevice 31, air is admitted from'the conveyor 41, through the valve chamber '42 and the conveyor 32, into the cylinder in which the piston 13a and drum '6 and thus de -energizing the actuating coils of the valve-magnet devices 54 and 55 of the engine .53, thereby causingthedoor 51 to be'returned to its closed position. I

The door 51v may also be'returned to its closed position by actuatinga handle 65 con- .stituting a part of the pneumatic valve mechanism 66 which is mounted upon. the

car frame 50 adjacent to the door 51. v

When air, or some other suitable fluid, is admitted from the supply source 67 through the valve mechanism 66, the pipe 16 and the conveyor 17 of the controller 1 to the cylinder 14, the air pressure within the cylinder 14 causes the piston 13 to be-actuated upwardly, thereby causing the piston rod 12,

to actuate the rod 4 in a counterclockwise direction, viewed from the left-hand end of Fig. "1*, and thus breaking the circuit comprising the contact segment 22 that is mounted upon the drum 5. An exhaust port is provided in the valve mechanism 66 toper- 1 mit air to escape from the cylinder 14', when the handle 65 is actuated. to its normal position or the position that is shown in the drawing. In this manner, the piston 13 is returned to its lower position. I

As the circuit comprising the parallelconnected actuating coils of the electromagnetic valve devices 54 and 55 of the engine 53 are; connected in series relationwith a plurality of pairs of contact fingers 23 which engage contact segments 22 upon each of the drums 5 and 6, if either of the drums 5 and 6is in its open position this circuit will be broken. With a controller constructed in accordance with my invention, it is possible for an operator to control any number of doors by means of an electric circuit comprising the energizing coil 35 of the electromagnetic device 31 and a master controller or switch (not shown).

' If, for any reason, it is desirable to close the doors, anoperator adjacent to one of the doors may do so by actuating the valve handle 65. f j V l/Vhile I have 'showna circuit comprising the parallelconnected actuating coils of the electromagnetic valve devices 54 and 55 of the machine 53 as being connected in series relation with contact fingers 23, which engage contact segments 22 mounted upon each of the drums 5 and 6, it is, of course, apparent that the coils may be connected in any relation desired and that the drum 5 and the fingers 23 appertaining thereto may be used to govern one set of doors, while the drum 6 and the corresponding fingers 23 may be employed to govern the movement of another set of doors. It is also apparent that the controller is not limited to systems of door control but may be employed wherever it is desirable to have a plurality of circuits governed by switching devices that are independently actuated and that are mounted within a single controller casing.

lVhile I have shown my invention in a preferred form, minor modifications may be made in the positions and shapes of parts and arrangements of circuits without departing from the spirit of my invention. I desire, therefore, to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a controller, the combination with a shaft and means comprising a piston for actuating said shaft, of a circuit-forming device actuated by said shaft, a second circuitforming device turnably mounted upon said shaft, and mean-s comprising a second piston for actuating said second device, said first piston and said second piston being in sideby-side relation.

2. In a controller, the combination with a shaft and means comprising a pistonfor actuating said shaft, of a circuit-forming device actuated by said shaft, a second circuit-forming device turnably mounted upon said shaft, and means comprising a second piston for actuating said second device, said first piston and second piston being in side by-side relation at one end of said shaft.

3. In a controller, the combination with a shaft andmeans comprising a piston for actuating 'sald shaft, of a circuit-forming device actuated by said shaft, a second circuit-forming device turnably mounted upon said shaft, and means comprising a second piston for actuating said second device, said second device and a portion of said means for the actuation thereof being positioned 7 between said first device and the correspondmg actuating means. i

4. In a controller, the combination with a shaft and means comprising a pneumaticallyoperated piston for actuating said shaft, of a circuit-forming device secured to said shaft, a second circuit-forming device rotatably mounted upon said shaft between said first device and said means, pneumatically operated means for actuating said second device, a portion of said second actuating means being positioned between saidfirst actuating means and said second circuitforming device, and an electromagneticdevice for governing one of said pneumatically operated pistons.

ton for actuating said second device in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of said first device, and means for biasing one of said devices to its closed position and the other of said devices to its open position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of April 1921.

WILLIAM G. HORN. 

